Saving Pegasus
by cucumbermelon3200
Summary: With poison slowly spreding through Sam's body, Jennifer must fight to keep her alive while Vala risks her life to find a cure. But with the only 2 unhypntoized people in the city trying to save Sam, who is left to save Atlantis? Cont. to Saving Milky Way
1. Part 1

**Previously:** see Saving Milky Way.

Saving Pegasus

The Blorg's face split into a hideous grin as it used its mind to watch the Earth vessel disappear through the Stargate. He had seen the 'gate address.

Their plan was about to go into effect. They had taken imprints of the human's minds and could now control them at will while they held a Stargate connection. The more humans under their control, the more their power grew.

The only problem was that the humans had stolen their power source, and the link they had with the other planets was now broken. They would need to use the humans they had imprinted to recover it.

The Blorg grinned evilly. How very little they knew…

V

The jumper leaped through the 'gate and jerked to a stop in the Atlantis 'gate room. Major Lorne, who was left in charge of the base while the main chain of command was gone on the mission, ordered the 'gate shut down and watched the scene unfold.

The jumper door opened to reveal 3 people hovering over an unconscious Colonel Carter. John hung out the back of the jumper and yelled for a medical team and Lorne repeated his orders over the loud speakers.

Dr. Keller looked up from her work as the order came over the intercom. She began shouting out orders to her staff, as a stretcher was pushed from the room by a small med team. She quickly snatched her pack and sprinted after them.

This was the routine she followed after every mission. She would look up in anticipation as an incoming wormhole was broadcast, hoping against hope that she wouldn't have to be called down.

Though she was a doctor, and she had to deal with these things on a regular basis, it didn't make the pressure any easier to deal with. After what happened to Elizabeth, she became exposed to what could happen should she fail. She couldn't ever let that happen again, and today she dreaded that announcement worst of all.

She ran into the 'gate room just as Ronon exited the jumper carrying the unconscious form of her commanding officer. Her heart dropped as she rushed to meet him at the stretcher and examine the injuries.

"What happened?" she asked, discovering an abnormally fast pulse as she put her fingers to Sam's neck.

"I don't know," he said. "She just passed out."

Rodney exited the jumper now and strode over, looking aggravated. "Snake bite," he explained, moving hair away to show Jennifer the two long slits in her neck.

Panicking, Keller wasted no time and began barking out orders again. The team watched in horror as Sam was wheeled away to the infirmary.

V

John was standing on the balcony gazing down on the Stargate in deep thought when an incoming wormhole was announced. Furrowing his eyebrows, he began to make his way to the tech room, when he suddenly felt a spark go off in his brain.

His face faded to a blank and serious expression and he strode into the tech room where he met the rest of his team and Major Lorne.

"Sergeant, report,' he demanded, studying the schematics displayed on the screen.

"That's the planet you just came from…" Lorne said, reading the 'gate address John was looking at. He nodded towards Chuck, saying "shut it down.'

The technician was about to oblige when John said, "belay that order, Sergeant."

Lorne looked at him in surprise. "Sir!" he said, becoming concerned of what would happen if they didn't shut the 'gate down soon.

"You heard me, Major," John said calmly. Ronon and Teyla smirked from where they stood observing the scene. "Lower the shield."

Chuck paused, unsure of what to do. He looked up at Lorne for a second opinion, but he looked just as confused.

"Sir, I think maybe we should get you to the infirmary…" he suggested.

John smirked. "That won't be necessary, Major," he said, and before Lorne could react, his hand was on his forehead. Chuck panicked as he saw a blank look come over the officer, and he spun around to see that the rest of Sheppard's team were doing the same thing to the other technicians in the room.

As he turned back, McKay's hand met his forehead and he felt a strange burning sensation. His eyes glossed over and he lost all expression in his face.

He turned back to the screen and touched the hand scanner. "Lowering the shield…" he said as the shield lowered, and John grinned.

From where she was standing frozen just around the corner, Vala gasped. She' d just been making final repairs to her ship and was on her way to see what the incoming wormhole was all about when she had seen the scene unfold.

Sheppard gave some orders to a group of marines and they stalked off. Vala turned and ran without looking back.

She saw people being brainwashed as she passed corridors, but was running so fast that their slow-working minds missed her.

She darted straight into the infirmary and sealed the door shut. Sam looked up at her in confusion from where she sat on her bed.

She had been examined, and thus far, there was not much they could determine. The snake that bit her was, according to Rodney, poisonous, and Keller's tests did trace a poison spreading slowly throughout her body. But without any knowledge of the animal that bit her or the poison it secreted, they couldn't do a whole lot for her. Keller had yet to determine what effects the poison might have, and was keeping her in the infirmary until she had a better idea. Sam had regained consciousness some time ago, and seemed to be ok aside from the darkening scar on her neck that was beginning to branch out into thin black lines that were spreading to her face.

"Vala?" she asked in concern. Vala rushed to her bedside, trying to catch her breath.

"The aliens…" she mumbled in between breaths.

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"…the aliens… gated in… Sheppard… brainwashed…" she explained, waving her arms wildly in the direction of the door and illustrating her explanation with hand gestures.

Sam's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh my god…" she exclaimed. "Is everybody affected?"

"Not yet…" she huffed. "But they're going around right now scrambling people's brains. I think we're still immune…"

Sam thought for a moment. "Then maybe we can still use that…"

She was out of bed before Vala could protest and walking over to the medicine cabinet where she prepared a syringe.

"What are you doing?" Vala asked, following her.

"Give me you're arm," Sam commanded, holding out her hand and holding the syringe in the other. Vala snatched her arm out of reach, eyeing the needle.

"What?" she asked, as though Sam had lost her mind.

"I need to take a blood sample," she explained.

"Why can't we use your blood?"

Sam narrowed her eyes. "Because my blood has an unknown, quite possible deadly poison flowing through it," she reminded.

Vala winced. That was the topic she'd been trying to avoid. "Right…" she said, and cautiously offered her arm.

Sam took it without haste and injected the long needle into it, making Vala bite her tongue and look away.

She extracted it, satisfied, and strode over to another section of the infirmary with a lot of very complicated looking equipment. Vala watched as she processed the blood and stored it in a new syringe.

Just as she finished, they heard footsteps and stepped around the corner just in time to see Dr. Keller walk by, look at Sam's empty bed in confusion, and then continue walking towards the door.

Vala hurried after her as she opened the doors. They were open just long enough for the young woman to see an officer down the hall with his hand on another officer's forehead, before Vala clasped her hand over her mouth and pulled her back into the room, jamming the doors shut before they were seen.

"Don't… scream…" Vala said calmly into the doctor's ear, for she had been screeching through sealed lips when Vala grabbed her.

The doctor, recognizing the alien woman's voice, nodded and she was released gently. She spun out of her grasp and backed a safe distance away. Vala raised her hands to show she was unarmed.

"It's ok," Sam assured, making Jennifer turn again. "It's just us."

"Colonel…" she began, looking back and forth between the two women that had her surrounded. "…what's going on?"

Sam and Vala exchanged looks, before Sam casually approached the woman and seized her arm, holding up her syringe in preparation. Jennifer panicked slightly, trying to pull away, but didn't react as strongly as she did when Vala had attacked her.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked nervously as Vala stepped up behind her.

"Sorry about this, Doctor," Sam apologized, positioning the needle above her skin. "But it's for your own good."

Jennifer jerked her arm as the needle was injected into it. Sam extracted it calmly and released her arm. She immediately pulled it away and looked back and forth between the hole in her arm and the woman with the needle, her eyes wide with shock.

"What was that!?!" she demanded, beginning to fear her commanding officer was not in her right mind.

"I'll explain everything later. But first, I need your help."

"With what?"

"Where'd you just come from?"

"The other side of the infirmary," she explained, still lost as to what they were getting at. "I was treating a patient for a minor headache when I came over to check on you…" she explained.

"How many people are in there?"

"I don't know… 10 or 12 maybe…" she said, but Sam was already making her way towards the door that sectioned off the two halves of the infirmary.

She peeked her head in and saw that half the people indicated were already robotic looking and busy brainwashing the rest. She quickly sealed the door, and Jennifer approached her.

"What did you inject me with…? What the _hell_ is going on?" she asked in exasperation.

"The city has been compromised," Sam explained, turning back to the young doctor. "We'll have to barricade ourselves in here until we can come up with a plan."

Jennifer looked over at Vala in shocked disbelief, but the alien woman only nodded in confirmation, so she let Sam continue.

"As far as I know, we're the only ones in the city who haven't been affected by the brainwashing. Or at least… we will be once they get through everybody else," she said grimly. "Vala and I are naturally immune because of the Naquadah in our blood. That's what we injected you with."

"So you see, we actually did you a favor," Vala interjected.

Jennifer frowned, trying to comprehend all the information. She couldn't come flat out and say she thought they were insane. Besides, she'd heard stranger things already in her short time here. But then again, how was she to know that it wasn't Sam and Vala who were the brainwashed aliens, and perhaps she had just been brainwashed too… Her head swam with possibilities, and she was still too inexperienced to know which was most plausible.

"Ok…" she said nervously, feeling she should reward them with some kind of response for their efforts. "So, let me get this straight," she thought aloud, glancing back and forth between the two women with a nervous laugh, still hoping someone would burst out laughing and tell her it was all a joke. "It's the three of us… versus the entire city…"

Sam bit her lip and exchanged a look with her partner. "Pretty much…" she admitted, shrugging in apology.

"Oh…" Jennifer gulped, staring absently at the floor. "So what are we going to do?"

"First of all," Sam said, crossing her arms over her chest. "We'll need to find a more secure location. They'll be after us soon."

"Right!" Vala said, whipping out her zat enthusiastically. Jennifer frowned.

"You don't happen to have any extra of those?" Sam asked, walking over to the counter and beginning to stuff a pack with all the materials available to them in the sectioned off part of the infirmary.

"First rule of gun handling," Vala began, twisting her belt around so she could have access to the contents in the back. She withdrew two more zats with a proud flourish. "…Always carry extras!"

Sam frowned, taking one of the offered weapons. She couldn't recall that rule being anywhere in the gun handling manual, but decided it wasn't worth quarrelling over. Instead, she laid the weapon down, having no belt in which to store it, and returned to her packing.

Meanwhile, Vala was offering the other zat to Keller, who accepted it nervously.

"You know how to fire one of those things?" Sam questioned, glancing over her shoulder at the uneasy looking doctor.

Jennifer looked up in surprise as she processed the question. "Oh, umm… sure…" she answered, waving the weapon in a confident gesture.

Sam grinned, amused, and zipped up the pack. She began to sling it over her back but Keller quickly stopped her, grabbing for the straps. "Please, let me get that…" she offered as Sam gave her a confused look. Jennifer slung it over her shoulders and gave an embarrassed smile. "This I think I can handle," she explained, shrugging her shoulders indifferently.

Sam smiled, but it quickly faded as something occurred to her and she looked down at the white infirmary slacks she was wearing, patting her unarmed chest as if expecting to find something.

"Jennifer," she said, her tone serious. "Where's my uniform?"

Vala sighed in frustration. "Sam, I know infirmary clothes aren't the most stylish of outfits but…"

"The power source," Sam said, cutting her off. "It's in my front pocket!"

Jenn's face quickly lit up in understanding and she rushed over to a closet and quickly located Sam's BDU's. Sam took them and began a panicked search. Within a short amount of time, she had withdrawn the clear disk and sighed in relief. Vala and Keller only had moments to look at it before she stuffed it safely back into her vest pocket, which she also removed from the assortment of clothing and slipped on over her white shirt. It looked rather ridiculous, but was effective.

She turned back as Vala walked over to wait by the door. She hurried over, Keller in toe, and took her position on the other side with her zat raised. She nodded and Vala opened the door.

Jennifer had screwed her eyes shut and held her breath, expecting a fire fight, but instead she blinked to find Sam and Vala already out in the hallway beckoning for her to follow. As they had hoped, the corridor was empty for everyone was being herded into other sections of the city to be brainwashed. She scurried out after them, and then ducked back into the room shouting a warning when she saw two armed marines marching towards them.

Sam and Vala spun around and fired their zats at them, knocking them out. They rushed over, each lifting one of the unconscious men from under the arms, and dragged them to the nearest door which turned out to be a transporter. They crammed the two inside as quickly and silently as possible and began jogging down the corridor in the same manner.

Jennifer followed, cursing each time she stomped too hard and the footstep echoed loudly in the quiet halls. The other two women said nothing, simply kept their fast pace.

By ducking behind walls and occasionally zatting and hiding oncoming marines, they were able to avoid any huge confrontations. Jennifer noticed how heavy Sam's breathing was, and how each time they stopped she would lean heavily against the wall. She stared at her in concern but could not meet her gaze for she kept her eyes shut while she rested.

They transported down to the lowest sections of the city, (part of which had yet to be explored even) and herded Jennifer into a small laboratory.

Inside, all the equipment was still covered by large sheets and the lights stayed off even as they stepped inside. The trio sighed in relief as Vala sealed the door shut behind them.

Sam rested her back against the wall and wiped a hand over her face in a mixture of frustration and exhaustion. The young doctor did not miss this gesture, and looked over at her with concern.

"Colonel… you ok?" she asked nervously, her breath still coming in heavy pants from their long jog.

"Yeah," Sam was quick to respond. She rested her eyes as she waited for the nausea to pass, leaning heavily against the wall and beginning to slide down it. "Just a headache…" she slurred before passing out and sliding to the floor.

"Colonel!" Jennifer shouted, rushing to assist.

Vala was already by her side and patting her cheek in encouragement to get up. Jennifer shoved her out of the way as politely as possible so she could look at her patient.

She put her fingers to her neck right above the ugly scar and checked her pulse, then laid a hand over her forehead. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes.

"She's getting worse…" she told Vala.

"Define worse…"

Jennifer paused and looked down at the unconscious form before her. "She's come down with a fever… which means the infection is getting worse. I'm giving her antibiotics but that's about as much as I can do."

Vala looked down at her friend worriedly, then back up at Keller. "So what are you saying? She's going to die?" she demanded. She had not thought the bite to be so serious, and now as it dawned on her, she was in total fright.

A saddened look came over Jennifer's face and she opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out. She had considered the possibility already but was not ready to give a definite answer. Now she didn't know. She knew of different treatments they could try, but none that would save her life, and especially none that could be performed without her medical staff in a tiny laboratory in the bottom of the city. Not even Vala's healing device had proved effective. Jenn had little experience with snake bites, but from what she did know, it was that they would need to concoct an antivenin if Sam was to have any chance.

She looked at the floor, and when she met Vala's eyes again they were watery with tears. "…If I can't find a cure soon…" she choked out.

Vala met her eyes with an intense gaze as a tear rolled down her cheek. "And will you be able to?"

Jennifer made a weak attempt at holding back tears but they escaped anyways, and she averted her eyes. "The only plausible cure would be an antivenin," she explained. "And in order to make that I'd need a sample of the original venom."

Vala looked up in disbelief and studied the woman's face. "You have to be joking…" she said, her sarcastic laugh distorted by sobs.

"I wish I was…" Jennifer said, shaking her head.

Vala gazed down at her friend's pale face and went into a state of deep thought for several moments.

"I'll go," she finally said, making Jennifer look up in surprise.

"You'll go where?"

Vala had already stood up and was sorting through the bag they had brought.

"Wait…" Jennifer hurried over to her, wondering what she was doing. "Vala, what are you doing?"

"I'm going back to that planet," she explained, not taking her eyes off her task. "I'm going to collect the venom."

"Are you serious!?!" Jennifer demanded, though the woman didn't seem to be joking. "You'll get yourself killed! I mean, you won't even make it off this planet, what with those… psychos running around," she said, for lack of a better word.

"Do I have a choice?" Vala asked, turning to face her. "You said it yourself. Without that anti-whatever Sam is going to die!"

Keller huffed in defeat as she met Vala's gaze and realized she would not be talked out of this. She nodded sharply, and Vala did so in turn.

"Now," she began, turning away momentarily to zip up the pack again, having pocketed a few grenades and some power bars. She sniffed, pulling herself together before continuing. "I'll need you to show me how to collect the antivenin before I go."

Jennifer sighed and selected some different supplies from the pack to show Vala how to use them. She had brought these medical supplies out of calculation that she may have to use them. Vala nodded and stuffed the assortment of objects into her front pocket in a rather disorderly fashion.

Jennifer followed her to the door to wish her luck.

"Stay with Sam," Vala instructed, nodding her head towards the occupied bed. She opened her mouth to say more, but decided there wasn't much more advice she could offer that would be of any use to the young woman. She was a doctor, and she knew what she was doing. She would keep Sam alive.

Vala smiled weakly once more and nodded a farewell.

"Good luck," Keller said as Vala slipped through the doorway into the vacant corridor and slunk off towards the armory.

V

"Status report," a hypnotized John Sheppard demanded as he strode into the control room. The technician stopped what he was doing and went to stand behind his commander, who was now standing by the railing and staring down at the open 'gate where a few airmen patrolled like mindless soldiers.

"The city has fallen under our control. Only a few humans are left to be dealt with, and they are being taken care of as we speak."

John grinned wickedly. "Good. Now, find me Colonel Carter."


	2. Part 2

Author's Note: Alright, sorry for the wait. Here's part 2. I hope you like it!

"Ah-hah!" Vala exclaimed proudly as she reached the door to the power room where she had just rendered two guards unconscious.

Slipping inside, she wandered over to a device which she knew contained the city's ZPMs.

"Hmm…" she said with interest as she rounded the contraption. After some amount of examination, she discovered the "eject" button and the ZPM was pushed up through a circular hatch.

Vala grinned in satisfaction when the lights above her flickered off.

V

Back in the control room, the technician's hands froze above the keyboard as his screen, and all the others in the room went black.

"Sir, we just lost power to all key systems!"

V

Vala set down her weapon momentarily so she could retrieve her prize, but as she glanced back to make sure no one was coming, her face was met with the unpleasant surprise of a flying fist, and she was sent sprawling backwards into a wall.

An angry looking Teyla stepped over the prone woman and up to the control consul. She took a quick moment to figure out what she was doing before the ZPM was swallowed back up by the device in a reverse push-pop motion and the lights flickered back on.

Vala let out a growl of frustration. She really wasn't in the mood for delays. She clambered off the ground and collided into Teyla, coming down on top of her.

The two women struggled against each other for several minutes before Teyla succeeded in throwing the other woman off of her. She stood and walked menacingly over to her, prepared to render her unconscious, but Vala rolled out of the way just in time and Teyla's fist hit the floor.

Vala was on her feet as quickly as her opponent, her fists dancing in front of her. Teyla was growing impatient, and advanced on her. Vala managed to duck the first kick and barely dodged a punch before she lashed out with her own fist and knocked the woman in the jaw.

She quickly took her opportunity to rush to the control consul and once again, attempt to remove the ZPM.

V

The technicians in the control room looked about in confusion as everything shut down for a second time after starting back up. Only moments later, the lights flickered on again for a short time and were quickly shut back off before the computers could even restart.

"Sergeant, what the hell is going on!?"

"I don't know, sir!"

Sheppard growled and stalked off at a quick pace in the direction of the power room.

V

Meanwhile, the battle raged on and Vala found herself being slammed onto the control consul while strong hands closed around her throat.

The force had given her a blow to the head and blood trickled from her nose. She looked around dizzily and it suddenly became clear to her that she was being strangled. But instead of trying to push the woman away, her hand wandered over the surface of the control consul until her fingers brushed a smooth, metal object. She fumbled for it until she had it held in her grasp and without thinking, aimed and fired.

Blue electric streams of light danced over Teyla's body and Vala could feel her grip falter before she dropped to the ground. Vala gripped the edge of the consul to keep from falling herself, and stood there for several moments while she regained her breath.

V

Back in the tiny, darkened lab, Keller stared up at the ceiling in confusion as the lights once again flickered off above her, and this time, stayed off.

Suddenly, she felt Sam stir beneath her touch and she looked down at where she held a damp washcloth to the woman's forehead. Sam's expression had gone from one of peace to distress and she flinched away from the cold wet feeling as though having a bad dream. Jennifer removed the cloth and waited until Sam's eyes fluttered open and she looked around in confusion.

"What happened?" she asked as her gaze landed on the woman kneeling beside her.

Jenn smiled warmly at her as she rewetted the cloth with cold water from one of the canteens and applied pressure to the Colonel's burning forehead once more. Sam flinched slightly but allowed her to continue, still waiting for an answer.

"You passed out, Colonel," she explained. "I'm just trying to keep your fever down."

Sam frowned and gently seized the doctor's wrist, stilling her movements and forcing her to meet her gaze.

"Where's Vala?"

Jenn quickly averted her eyes as she considered what to tell the woman. How was she to explain this? She could tell just from her brief experience with Vala that she was not one to have followed orders in the past. Sam was not going to be happy, but there was no avoiding it. She would have to confess.

"Jennifer?" Sam prompted.

"She, umm…she's not here."

"What?"

Jennifer bit down on her bottom lip nervously and shut her eyes, too afraid to see the Colonel's reaction. "She went back to the planet."

Jennifer had expected an outburst, but instead Sam only sighed and let her head drop back on the makeshift pillow in frustration. Jenn quickly continued, hoping to defend the woman.

"She wants to try and collect a venom sample."

Sam ran a hand down her face warily. "You shouldn't have let her go."

"She thought it was the only way to…" Jennifer trailed off, and Sam glared at her from over the cover of her hand.

"There is more at risk here then my life."

The doctor's brows furrowed over and she looked at Sam questioningly. "Well, I know that, but would it really have made that big of a difference? Like you said, there's three of us and over three _hundred_ of them. Wouldn't we be better off just waiting for someone to…?"

"Someone to what? The rest of the city is under alien control. It's up to us."

Jennifer sighed. "Alright. Well, on the positive side, we're safe for now, right? I mean, we're only three people. They shouldn't be coming after us or anything."

Sam winced. "Sorry, Jennifer, but I'm afraid they will." Jenn's face fell and Sam painfully withdrew the clear disk from her vest pocket. "They'll be after this."

"Great," Jenn said sarcastically. "So, what? No good news then?"

Sam looked up at the ceiling as she returned the object to its original place of hiding. "Well, it looks like Vala managed to get the power shut off, so the city shouldn't be able to track us."

Jennifer smiled weakly. "Ah. You see, it's not all bad."

Sam smiled back, though she could tell the doctor was still rather distressed by the situation.

V

Sprinting into the power room, Sheppard discovered the empty control consul and let out a howl of outrage. Spotting the unconscious Teyla on the floor, he stomped over and gave her a swift kick in the ribs. She startled and looked up.

"What happened?" he demanded, showing little trace of concern.

Teyla sat up and looked around, recollecting her thoughts before responding. She sighed, and a look of distaste spread across her face. "It was the one called Vala."

John frowned, but before he could respond, Chuck's voice came over the radio. "Sir! We just saw a small vessel exit the city. Should we attempt to pursue by jumper?"

John continued to glare at Teyla as he clicked the radio to respond. "No. Let her go; she's not important." John finally directed his gaze away from Teyla and began to pace. "I want you to send out search teams. Find Carter."

V

Touching ground, Vala checked to make sure her shields were still activated before exiting the cargo ship. Gating back to the planet had been easy. All she had to do was locate a nearby gate orbiting a planet and dial the same address as before. As far as she knew, no one noticed her arrival. All the aliens were back to performing their regular tasks, as though nothing had happened.

Vala headed for the dome, P-90 clutched tightly to her. At a light jog, she made it there faster then before, (of course, she had parked the ship closer too). Crouching behind a bush, she retrieved her mini binoculars and scanned the area.

There was still a gaping hole in the top of the dome where the jumper had crashed through it, and a few aliens were working to repair it. No glow was emanating from within the structure, telling her power was still offline.

Since she had entered from the back where there was nothing but wooded area, there was no entrance. That would be in the front of the dome, along with the rest of the population. At least there were no guards to take care of this way.

Vala edged closer, scurrying from rock to rock, keeping her eyes pinned on the working aliens. They did not see her. When she was close enough, she peeked over the boulder and did another scan. Still no movement in her direction.

Aiming her zat, (because it made less noise) Vala fired at the two aliens on the dome. They were taken by surprise, and the first one fell in. The other slipped and rolled down the face of the dome.

Having cleared the area, Vala emerged from behind the cover of her rock and strode over to the base of the dome, looking down at the unconscious alien there. She took the time to zat the creature two more times, disintegrating it.

She looked up at the spot where it had fallen from, releasing a sigh of frustration. There appeared to be a rope ladder-type thing leading up to the shattered area of dome where the aliens had been working. Fastening her zat back into her belt, she made sure the rope was secure and began scaling up the side.

Once at the top, she peered down inside, but her vision was limited. She began pulling the ladder up, threading it back down into the dome. "Okie dokie…" she said to herself in an attempt to calm her nerves. "Here we go."

With that, she dropped into the hole and began her descent.

V

_Sam could feel herself being pulled under; felt the pressure of the water building around her. Each time she gasped for air she swallowed a mouthful of murky water instead. She choked as it filled her lungs and prevented her from breathing. _

_The tentacles were snaking further and further up her body and she struggled against them but they had already wrapped themselves tightly around her shoulders and were serving as a straightjacket of sorts. All she could do was writhe like some kind of worm and fight desperately to stay conscious. _

_As the longest of the tentacles reached her neck, she expected it to constrict around her and finish it, but it instead came to rest lightly against the side of her neck and she could feel two sharp objects protruding from the tip. _

_She gasped as a sharp pain confirmed the fangs had pierced skin, and she felt herself becoming light headed and her eye lids became heavy and slid shut, darkening the world around her._

Sam gasped and her eyes shot open. Jennifer was instantly at her side, feeling her pulse and temperature. Sam breathed heavily, trying to calm her nerves.

"It's okay," Jenn said in a soothing voice. "It was just a dream."

Sam felt embarrassed all of a sudden as she remembered her situation and sighed, quickly regaining control of her heart rate. "What'd I miss?" she asked, trying to draw attention away from her manner of awakening.

Jenn frowned. "Not much. I think the poison is starting to have its affect; you've been losing consciousness a lot."

Sam didn't need convincing of this. She felt weak and feverish and her head and joints ached like hell. Besides this, the black scars left from the fangs had branched out, and now covered most of her neck and jaw line, and began down her chest.

Sam nodded, smiling weakly in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit.

"No word from Vala?"

"Not yet."

There was silence for a while, until finally Sam decided to speak.

"Jennifer…" she began, very lecture-like. Jenn looked up at her, listening intently. Sam continued. "I hate to say it but… there may come a time when we're going to have to defend ourselves—and there's a good chance I'm not going to be able to."

Jenn looked somewhat taken aback by this statement. She tried doing her bedside act. "Colonel, don't start talking like that…"

"Jennifer," Sam cut her off, and she said it firmly enough that Jenn stopped talking and only looked at her. "If it comes to that I'm trusting you to keep this out of enemy hands at all costs," she said, patting the lump in her vest pocket. Jenn's eyes went to the object and back up to Sam, wide with fright.

"Colonel, I can't…"

"Yes, you can. You've been taught everything you need to know; now you just need to apply it."

"But I…"

"Jenn." She locked onto her gaze again. "I can't do this alone."

Jennifer bit her lip and nodded, fighting back the tears as Sam drifted into unconsciousness again. Alone in the dark room once more, the doctor sobbed silently, holding the hand of her dying patient. She would be brave when the time comes.

V

Inside the dome, Vala scrutinized the area. It was dark except for the area of dim sunlight that shone through the hole to reflect off the black, murky water. Vala wandered in slowly, keeping a suspicious eye on the ceiling where an aerial attack could be conducted.

She crouched down at the water's edge, staring at her reflection for a few moments, hoping to see some hint of what was beneath, but she could not. She frowned and struck the water with the head of her P-90, hoping the disturbance would provoke whatever resided beneath enough for it to come out.

"Come on out, beastie…"

Eventually, bubbles started to rise to the surface and Vala backed a safe distance away, weapon raised as huge tentacles slowly rose from the water's depths. Vala only grinned; she was past fear.

"That's it," she said quietly, and a large pink bubble popped over her mouth as she cautiously aimed her P-90 and began to fire.

The creature's screams echoed off the walls as Vala's bullets ripped through the soft flesh of its tentacles, spurting blood everywhere. It sunk down into the water, its legs crashing down on the platform.

Frantic noises erupted outside. It was either the P-90 gunfire or the screams of the dying monster, but something had alerted them to her presence. Vala cursed and sprinted over to the carcass of the beast. She crouched down by one of the largest tentacles and conducted a quick inspection.

At the very tip, embedded within the softer flesh, were two tiny, dagger-like teeth. 'Odd…' Vala thought, but didn't linger on the thought for long. She whipped out the equipment Jenn had given her and began to extract the venom.

Standing up, her vial full of the clear greenish substance, she capped the test tube and returned it to her pocket. She was about to turn back when two energy blasts shot by her. She reacted quickly to the assault by zatting the two aliens in the doorway; but more would be coming.

Vala cursed again and began climbing up the rope ladder again.

V

Back in the tiny lab, Jennifer was jerked out of her thoughts as a loud bang echoed off the door. She jumped, startled, and turned her attention to the source of the noise.

Another bang sounded, and another. Jenn gulped. She could feel her heart beat beating faster against her ribcage, and she felt like a cornered rabbit. Quietly, cautiously, she reached for her zat and squeezed the trigger, opening it.

Another bang followed by a crunching sound, and the doors were being pried open. Jenn leaped to her feet, pointing her weapon at the doorway as the intruder clambered in.

"Ronon…"

Ronon grinned, stepping further into the room. He raised his stunner and, without thought, Jenn fired. The blue light danced over his body and he dropped to his knees, falling over on his side.

Jennifer scurried over and retrieved his weapon, backing up again and keeping her weapon on him. He was holding his chest, struggling back onto his feet. No… she thought. That should have knocked him out. Why wasn't he unconscious!?

Jenn breathed rapid breaths through her nose, training both weapons on the man in front of her. She couldn't zat him again. That would kill him. And who knew what effect a zat blast followed by a stun blast could have. She tried to steady herself, hoping he might buy the bluff, but her arms were shaking.

Ronon continued to grin. "You won't shoot me," he challenged. Jennifer did not respond, but held her ground, daring him to make a move. He straightened to his full height, taking a threatening step forward. "Get out of the way."

"No."

"I'm not here for you. Hand over Colonel Carter and you won't be harmed."

He took another step forward, and Jenn stepped back, blocking his path to the unconscious Sam. "I don't think so."

Ronon shrugged "Fine."

He moved, and was in front of her within two bounds. He knocked the stunner from her hand, sending it flying in one direction, while the zat was thrown in the other. He took a swing at her, and she ducked, dropping to the ground and rolling a safe distance away.

Adrenalin pumped through her veins, and she got into her fighting stance as she'd been taught, but Ronon was calmly turning to face her. He hadn't even broken a sweat.

He took an experimental step forward and Jenn immediately backed up a step. Ronon smirked and shook his head, turning away from the fight. He was moving over to Sam.

Jennifer, thinking fast, snatched up the metal thermos, holding it back threateningly like a baseball bat. "Ronon!" she shouted, causing him to look over his shoulder at her. "Don't make me hurt you."

Ronon turned and grinned. She swallowed hard as he began to advance on her, but this time, she did not back up. Instead, she held her ground and was struck across the face and sent sprawling onto the ground before she could act.

She blinked, and by the time she reoriented herself and looked up, Ronon was looming over Sam again. He held the power source proudly in his hand. He wasn't even looking in her direction, as he was too busy admiring it. Slowly, Jenn stood up and crept up behind him.

He was just about to stand up when she swung the thermos as powerfully as she could, striking him in the back of the head, and he was knocked out.

Breathing hard, Jenn dropped to her knees and crawled over, retrieving the power source. She then moved to Sam and checked her pulse. She sighed and leaned back against the wall, tears blurring her vision.

"Please hurry, Vala…"

V

Lifting herself into a sitting position on the roof of the dome, Vala risked a glance back into the room she had just vacated. It was swarming now with reinforcements, and a few were frantically pointing in her direction. Another couple were beginning to clamber up the ladder. Vala fired two quick shots and was scrambling further up the slanted surface.

At the crown of the dome structure, Vala paused, stood upright, and looked down at the scene before her. At least two football fields in length of nothing but ground to cover—ground scattered with at least a hundred armed aliens. They didn't see her yet; they were too occupied with their tasks, but it would still be a near impossible plan to carry out.

The first round of shots being fired from behind her, however, was all the motivation she needed. She glanced back once over her shoulder to see two aliens clambering out of the hole, aiming their weapons at her.

Vala took two long strides forward, and dropped onto her butt, allowing gravity to pull her down the face of the dome. Her speed increased as the dome steepened, and she held her weapon before her as she slid. Some aliens on the ground had noticed the commotion and were looking up. She began firing her zat, taking out at least five bystanders before she hit the ground.

She stumbled a bit, but only a bit, and then she was off, running hard and fast towards her goal: the only Stargate that remained open; the one connected to Atlantis.

Energy blasts whizzed over her head and all around her, but she kept running, tearing through the crowds. The aliens were slow, and although they tried to intercept her, by the time they took a step she was already out of reach.

The Stargate was in sight now. She was almost there. But a small group of aliens had foreseen her intentions, and were moving towards the DHD. They were going to try to shut it down before she could escape through it. She pushed herself harder, realizing this could work to her advantage if she got there in time.

Vala was skipping up the platform steps just as the aliens reached the dial home device and were reaching for the red crystal in the center. Squeezing her eyes shut, she threw herself into the event horizon.

V

John stood, arms crossed, staring down at the open Stargate, waiting to hear news from the search teams. Just then, a dark shape hurtled through the middle of the wormhole, sending large ripples across to the outer edge. John frowned, knitting his eyebrows together and jolting forward to get a better look.

It was Vala. She hit the ground and slid several feet across the smooth floor of the gate room, rolling into a ball and shielding her face with her arms. John growled in annoyance.

"Shoot her!" he hollered.

But just then, several things happened. First, the gate shut down, and John felt a nauseating wave pass through his brain, as though recovering from a fit of dizziness. Everyone else present seemed to feel the same because they all stopped what they were doing and looked around dazedly. The second thing that happened was there was a beam of light in the control room beside John. John spun around, still readjusting to the feeling of consciousness, to find himself face to face with the remaining three members of SG-1. Colonel Cameron Mitchell grinned and aimed his zat.

"I don't think so," he said, and fired the weapon, rendering John unconscious as quickly as he had regained it. Daniel and Teal'c did the same to the rest of the people in the room.

"Vala, you ok?" Daniel called down to her as she was standing up. She nodded, still confused.

"We brought a bomb!" Cam hollered, deciding explanations could wait until later. "What's the address!?"

Vala sprung into action, rushing up the stairs passed the dazed guards and waving a slip of paper. "Quick!" she yelled as Daniel rushed to meet her, examining the scribbled symbols. "Dial out before they can dial in!"

Daniel ran to one of the monitors and began to dial as Cam and Teal'c lugged the heavy, ticking explosive down the fleet of steps, Vala trailing behind them.

The gate kawooshed open and the two men stepped up to it, gently releasing the device to float in the wormhole before pushing it all the way through, the shield activating nearly immediately afterward.

"All right, shut it down!" Cam shouted, and Daniel quickly obliged, but not before they glimpsed a bright surge of power hitting the gate's shield, letting them know the bomb had gone out.

Vala heaved a great sigh of relief as her teammates turned to face her, Daniel jogging up behind them.

"How'd you find me?" she queried.

The men exchanged glances, and Cam smirked and slipped her a tiny square of paper between his fingers.

"We got your note," Daniel explained as she unfolded the paper.

Vala grinned at the big, red letters written on the page.

_Daniel,_

_Gone to Atlantis. Be back soon._

_Love, Vala_

And there was a tiny heart next to the signature. Cam continued to explain.

"After everyone snapped out of that whole brainwashed thing, we figured we'd drop by and get you caught up."

Teal'c nodded in agreement. "When we arrived, however, we saw that the city's power was offline, and assumed something must be wrong."

"Well," Vala said with a grin. "You weren't a moment too soon."

The men grinned in satisfaction at their achievements as Vala went on.

"You do know, however, that once the gate was shut down, they were no longer under alien influence."

The grins vanished, and the men were now exchanging slightly humiliated frowns.

"Oh well," Cam said. "I'm sure Sheppard'll understand."

Teal'c inclined his head in concurrence, while Daniel only raised an eyebrow. Cam smirked and turned back to Vala.

"Where's Sam?"

Vala's face fell all of a sudden. "Oh my god. Sam!"

The men gave her confused looks, but she was already off in the direction of the small lab.

V

Vala burst into the room, Cam, Daniel, and Teal'c hot on her heels. Jenn's head shot up, her hand freezing on Sam's forehead. Relief washed over her face when she took in the dark haired alien, holding out a filled test tube.

"Oh, Vala, thank god!" she exclaimed, accepting the token and uncapping it for a quick examination.

The color in SG-1's faces drained as they took in their friend's appearance.

"Is she goanna be ok?" Cam asked, his tone desperate.

Jenn looked up with him at wide eyes and shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that yet."

Cam and Daniel exchanged worried glances as Jenn began to gather supplies, calling out commands at the same time. They stood out of the way as Teal'c passed them, carrying Sam and followed by Jenn and Vala. They sighed and took off after them, hoping for good news.

Author's Note (again): Ok, don't worry. I won't leave you hanging on that note. There will be an epilogue.


	3. Epilogue

Epilogue

Cam could hear voices filtering out from inside the room before he entered, and he couldn't help but grin at the sight of Sam propped up on the infirmary bed, surrounded by new friends and coworkers.

"Hey, Sam. We were just about to head out. Thought we'd drop by and see how you were doing first."

All heads in the room shot up at the unexpected arrival, and Sam smiled appreciatively.

"I'm better," she said with a brightness that assured him she wasn't just faking it.

Cam smiled back and nodded before turning his attention to John. "Oh, and Sheppard…"

John, who had politely ducked his head during the exchange, snapped it back up to look at him.

Cam smirked. "Sorry about that whole, _shooting you_ thing earlier."

John matched his grin with narrowed eyes.

Daniel frowned. "Yeah, by the way, where's McKay?"

John shifted his attention to the archeologist, glad for the change in subject. "He's off helping with getting the city back online. Apparently some of the systems need to be shut on manually."

Eyebrows knitted together, Daniel moved on to his next question. "Speaking of which…" His eyes darted over to Vala, then back to his audience. "How did you get the city back online considering Vala left the ZPM on the ship…?"

Vala rolled her eyes. "Oh don't be ridiculous, Daniel. I hid it in the city before I left. Though, now that you mention it, I _will_ be filing a request for a new ship."

She offered a wide, toothy grin and Daniel ducked his head while the others tried to hide their amusement.

The silence was broken when Jennifer entered the room, flipping through some pages on a clip board. All eyes turned to the doctor, waiting for her assessment.

"Well," she began in a cheery tone. "So far everything looks good. Your fever's down, the poison is clearing out…" She flipped through a few more pages and looked up at Sam. "And it looks like your rash is healing."

Sam smiled.

"So, seriously," Cam cut in, waving his hand to halt the conversation. "How did you manage to get yourself bitten by a… what was it exactly?"

"I believe it was a venomous sea serpent, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c replied.

Vala frowned. "No, I'd have to say it looked more like a giant squid."

Sheppard and the others exchanged amused looks as the bickering continued.

"Yeah, I thought your mission had to do with brainwashing aliens…" Daniel added, his brows furrowed in skepticism.

Sam laughed under her breath. "Just my luck, I guess."

Cam grinned. "Right, well, we'd love to stick around and hear the rest of the story, but, Landry's still waiting for us to report back, and you know how it is when the good general gets cranky…"

"Ah," Sam said with an affirmative nod of her head. "Well, I guess I should probably let you go then."

Cam nodded with appreciation. "Keep us posted."

"Will do."

SG-1 gave their finals farewells and began to file out of the room along with Sheppard's team when Sam called out.

"Vala!"

The woman spun around, tossing her pigtails over her shoulders in a comical fashion.

"Hold up a sec."

Vala grinned and walked back over to her bedside where Sam was beckoning Jenn over. The doctor frowned in confusion and set down her work, walking over as requested.

Sam smiled warmly at the two women. "I just wanted to say thank you. Both of you. If it weren't for your combined efforts I wouldn't be here right now."

The pair looked at their feet and exchanged shy smiles.

"Yeah, well… you would've done the same for us," Jenn said.

Vala gave her a friendly shove in the arm. "Yeah, that's what friends are for," she said in agreement.

Sam smiled, locking onto their eyes for a few moments longer to show her sincerity.

"Alright," she said after a short silence. "You better get going or Cam'll leave without you again."

"_Right_…" Vala drawled, bouncing on the soles of her feet and hurrying off in the direction of the gate room.

"Oh and Vala…" Sam called after her, making her slap her hand over the door frame to halt her acceleration and swing back into the room. Sam didn't bother trying to hide her amusement.

"If you run into McKay, send him down here, will you?"

Vala grinned and gave a mock salute. "Will do," she promised, and with that she was gone.

Sam smiled, resting her head back against the pillow. For the first time, she felt confident about her role in the city, (which was somewhat ironic considering that only yesterday the whole city was trying to kill her…). Yet somehow, when only ten minutes later McKay arrived in the doorway wearing a look of great concern, she knew things were going to be fine. It may not be SG-1, but she had friends here.

Author's Note: Alright, sorry if it's a little cheesy, but I'm a strong believer in happy endings. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'd love to hear what you think.


End file.
